Guest Blog by Cathy Cowan Becker
Ohio is blessed with 76 state parks and over 750,000 acres of wildlife land managed by the Department of Natural Resources.
You’ve likely visited some of them – Ohioans absolutely love their state parks. In a highly industrialized state, our parks and wildlife areas are some of the few places we can go to experience nature as it is intended.
Unfortunately, all of that came under attack in late 2022, when the Ohio legislature added a slew of oil and gas amendments to HB 507, a bill about poultry chicks, then passed it during the last day of lame duck session with no public notice and no chance for comment.
That bill – signed by Gov. Mike DeWine three years ago this month — mandated oil and gas extraction from our beloved state parks, wildlife areas, and public lands.
Welcome to the resistance
Democracy hasn’t gotten much better since HB 507 became law. But a group of citizens has been fighting back – and together we founded a new nonprofit called Save Ohio Parks.
For the past three years, Save Ohio Parks has alerted thousands of people on our email list whenever the oil and gas industry “nominates” a piece of public land for fracking.
While we have not been able to stop the fracking, we have slowed it down. Out of 60 nominations, one state park (Salt Fork), six wildlife areas (Valley Run, Zepernick, Egypt Valley, Keen, Leesville, and Jockey Hollow), and 14 highway lands have been approved for fracking.
Our supporters submit hundreds of written comments on each nomination of public land for fracking, and many show up to the meetings of the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission that decides whether to approve or deny these nominations.
We have held rallies, press conferences, silent protests, meeting disruptions, and fracking Christmas carols. We aren’t making it easy for the state to sell off our public lands to the oil and gas industry. The people of Ohio own and use our public lands — they belong to us.
Photo by Paul Becker
Time to speak out
Incredibly, for three years now, we have not been allowed to speak at a commission meeting. We are told these are “business meetings,” and they don’t have to let the public speak. We hold signs and tell them what we think anyway – but there’s no formal public testimony.
Until now.
On Monday, January 12, at 1 p.m., the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission will hold a public hearing about changes to the standard lease form at the Ohio Department of Public Safety Headquarters, Room 1110, 1970 W. Broad St, Columbus, OH 43223.
Save Ohio Parks will gather outside the building starting at noon to give people a chance to practice their testimony and provide testimony tips.
This hearing will be the first time in three years when the citizens of Ohio will be allowed to speak at a meeting regarding the fate of public lands that we own, use, and cherish – and we want to make the most of it.
Please consider attending this hearing and give testimony about why you care about Ohio’s state parks, wildlife areas, and public lands, and think they should be protected. Sign up here
Two more years of fracking
Technically, this hearing is about a change to the standard lease form – the form used when the state leases our public lands to an oil and gas company for fracking. The change will increase the lease term from three to five years, as required by another law, HB 308, passed in 2024.
We won’t be able to stop that change – but we can tell the commission what we think.
Two more years of fracking our state parks and public lands means:
- More toxic air pollution that kills wildlife and harms human health.
- Billions more gallons of toxic, radioactive frack wastewater that will be injected underground.
- Thousands more truck trips hauling fracking chemicals and waste with no PPE for drivers.
- More fossil fuel extraction from Appalachian Ohio, already a sacrifice zone for decades.
- More money into the pockets of out-of-state fracking companies from fracked communities.
It’s important the commission hears from as many Ohioans as possible – so please consider signing up. If you are not sure what to say, we will be holding a testimony training on Thursday, January 8, at 4:30 p.m. Register for the training here
If you absolutely can’t make the hearing on January 12 – or even if you can – you can submit a written comment by sending it to Commission.Clerk@oglmc.ohio.gov.
Thank you for speaking up for Ohio’s state parks, wildlife areas, and public lands. Every voice counts. Find more information on the Save Ohio Parks website at saveohioparks.org.
